


Tea Leaves - Blighted

by SophSaige



Series: Tea Leaves [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Angst, F/M, Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers, Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Not Beta Read, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 705
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26482408
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SophSaige/pseuds/SophSaige
Summary: Still, Vin was so unlike Charon. Unsure where Charon had been confident. Sweet where she had been teasing. Quiet when Charon would have spoken. He could have sworn he heard Charon’s voice, just for a moment, when he had looked at Vin on her balcony the other night.“If you want to kiss me so badly, then just do it already, Hades.”
Relationships: Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch & Warrior of Light, Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch/Original Character(s), Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch/Warrior of Light
Series: Tea Leaves [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1922944
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Tea Leaves - Blighted

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Emet/WoL Week 2020, Day 3: I knew you once upon a time / Kiss
> 
> This is a part of my Tea Leaves series! Reading the others is not required, but is recommended. c:

He thought he had seen a glimpse of Charon in the Warrior of Light once before, and now Emet-Selch intended to keep watch for more. He stood far from the Scions as they conversed at a table in the Crystarium Markets, hiding himself in the shadow of an awning. As he watched them from his post, Emet-Selch wondered if maybe it was less keeping watch and more  _ hunting _ for echoes of his friend, but reminded himself that regardless, it wouldn’t change his course. Or hers, for that matter.

Every now and then, Vin would give an expression that mirrored Charon perfectly, or would deliver a word or phrase with just the right inflection. They were small kernels Emet-Selch collected as he observed the group, making note of each similarity as they carried on. They were bursts of color in an otherwise dark sky - bright, and warm, and beautiful.

Still, Vin was so unlike Charon. Unsure where Charon had been confident. Sweet where she had been teasing. Quiet when Charon would have spoken. He could have sworn he heard Charon’s voice, just for a moment, when he had looked at Vin on her balcony the other night.

_ “If you want to kiss me so badly, then just do it already, Hades.” _

She was insufferable. It was Charon’s favorite jeer when he was terse with her. Because of course he wouldn’t kiss her. For one thing, she only ever said it when his annoyance with her was palpable, seeping from his eyes like hot metal. And what’s more,  _ they _ didn’t do that. They were  _ friends _ . Of course he wouldn’t kiss her.

He should have kissed her, though.

He should have kissed her on the mouth when she complained of wind-chapped lips. He should have kissed her freckled shoulder when he caught a glimpse of it as she shifted her robes. He should have kissed the centers of her palms when he caught her wringing her hands during her final Convocation meeting.

A sudden cacophony wrenched him from his daydreams, nearly making him jump in surprise.

Vin had laughed.

Emet-Selch bristled - it was the same loud, boisterous laugh that had wormed its way into his ears time and time again. It gamboled out of the crux of Vin’s mouth as if it were teasing him, beckoning -  _ “Come closer, I’m right here!”  _

The curve of her lips were identical to Charon’s, he was sure of that. So many moments he had spent memorizing every freckle, every divot and turn in her skin, all for naught. How dare she wear her face. How dare her voice carry the same air. How dare her lips pucker and jut out in the same needy expression when she pouts. How  _ dare  _ her mouth practically beg his to envelop it and make up for lost time.

A cruel joke, to be sure. No doubt this was Hydaelyn’s way of mocking him. Why else would this broken, shattered _thing_ look identical to Charon? He envisioned The Crystal Mother jeering at him,  _ “Never forget, you chose wrong, and now she’s MINE.” _

Well, he’d show that sorry excuse for a Primal, wouldn’t he? Emet-Selch smirked to himself as he continued to watch Vin and her Scion companions. They were wholly oblivious of what was to come, weren’t they? So blinded by the very light they sought to extinguish. 

His eyes narrowed on Vin when she paused, just for a moment. A hiccup in her movement to grasp at her chest and let out a small cough, letting the tiniest bit of light dribble down her lip. He wanted to lick it off.

It was up to him to save them all, to make them see. Stay the course, guide as little as needed so they believe every turn is  _ their _ choice, and all would fall into place. Charon would be fine, once everyone had been rejoined. All this light in her incomplete self could be helpful, in fact. After all was said and done, he’d chide her for her past wrongs and embrace her, forgiving her with every onze of love he’d accumulated throughout the millennia.

Hydaelyn would suffer for the cruelty she displayed to those she professed to care for. Emet-Selch would make sure of that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!~
> 
> If you enjoy reading and/ or writing fanfic, come join us at the [Emet Selch's Wholesomely Debauched & Enabling Bookclub discord](https://discord.gg/3nnDmez)!~ Without them, this piece wouldn’t exist! <3


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